Published via Ecency

(source: tmdb.org)

Kenneth Branagh was hailed by critics as 1990s equivalent of legendary actor and director Laurence Olivier. Much of it had to do with Branagh’s reputation of grand Shakespearean actor and his ability to direct film adaptations of Bard’s work in entertaining and impressive ways, starting with his 1989 masterpiece Henry V. His next big ambitious project, 1996 epic adaptation of Hamlet was greeted with significantly less enthusiasm, with critics complaining over Branagh using entirety of Shakespeare’s text and thus risking to bore audience during four hours of running time. Four years later Branagh decided to do something different, supposedly simpler, lighter and, more importantly, shorter. The choice was Love’s Labour Lost, comedy that represents one of lesser known among Shakespeare’s plays, and Branagh in 2000 directed it as a musical.

Like so many authors that adapt Shakespeare’s work, Branagh chose to switch original setting into relatively more modern times. In this case it is Summer of 1939, when the people are around the world are getting concerned about upcoming world war. The fictional Kingdom of Navarre or, at least, its ruler, King Ferdinand (played by Alessandro Nivola), are worried about more personal matters. He has decided to give up his romantic life in order to dedicate himself to education, in which he is helped by trio of best friends – Longaville (played by Matthew Lillard), Dumaine (played by Adrian Lester) and Berowne (played by Branagh). To prevent any distraction, all four men swear that they would have nothing to with the opposite sex, while Ferdinand expressly forbids women from entering his palace. However, temptation soon comes in the form of Princess of France (played by Alicia Silverstone) who arrives to Navarre for the sake of diplomatic negotiations, escorted by her three handmaidens – Rosaline (played by Natasha McElhone), Katherine (played by Emily Mortimer) and Maria (played by Carmen Ejogo). The women, barred access, simply camp in front of palace and, even in such condidtions, Princess falls in love with Ferdinand. All four men inevitably give up on their pledge, but their attempts of romantic conquest would result with all kinds of comical misunderstandings.

Branagh, while writing script, took out two thirds of Shakespeare’s original text. What was left was basis for a musical, with 1930s settings being deliberately chosen in order to provide excuse for costumes, props and, more notably, song and dance numbers very much like those seen in Classic Hollywood musicals from the period. Like Woody Allen in his similar experiment with Everyone Says I Love You, Branagh deliberately chose actors whose forte wasn’t dancing and singing. This nevertheless resulted in often charming versions of 1930s pop standards written by Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. However, those dance and song numbers somehow failed to connect with the actual plot and dialogue lines that looked too artificial. Near the end, when the entire cast performs “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, many in the audience would start asking themselves whether this film has anything to actually do with Shakespeare. The general impression is further eroded with finale featuring black-and-white scenes of Second World War, so out of sync with colourful, light-hearted and escapist content which preceded it. The only explanation for this decision could be in Branagh’s misguided hope that implicit Holocaust references could improve his “Oscar” chances. In any case, critics quickly turned against Branagh and Love’s Labour Lost turned into major box office fiasco. While it had occasional charming moment, it could be recommended only to the most curious of viewers. Branagh’s work looks even more disappointing when we know that the other authors, like those responsible for West Side Story and Kiss Me Kate, mixed Shakespeare and musical with much better results.

RATING: 3/10 (+)